WHICH HUMAN CRIES FOR WHICH EMOTIONS ?

"Humans cry out not only when they are frightened or aggressive, but also when they sense other emotional states, and these various states that cause screaming are similar to a variety of inner emotional states that are most often expressed. by less intense non-verbal vocal emotions, such as sadness, joy and sensual pleasure ”, detail these scientists.

Human screams communicate at least ... six emotions

We use the cry to express six different emotions. Unlike primates, which use screaming to communicate only anger and fear, humans scream to express six different emotions: anger, fear, pain, sadness, pleasure, and joy. And contrary to what one might think, we detect and decipher these more quickly than alarming cries, according to the study published in the scientific journal.

“The results of our study are surprising,” says Sascha Frühholz, lead author.

Certainly, it is impossible to remain unmoved or forget the mythical cries of Shelley Duvall in Shining or that of Janet Leigh in Psychosis. However, in humans, "screaming communication appears to have diversified widely," which represents "a major evolutionary step" according to the University of Oslo psychology professor.

More likely to hear positive cries

"Humans share with other species the ability to signal danger by shouting, but it seems only humans shout to signal positive emotions as well," the scientist continues.

For this study, the researchers used four psychoacoustic, perceptual, and neuroimaging decision-making experiments in tests with 12 participants. The results revealed six psycho-acoustically distinct types of screaming, which indicated pain, anger, fear, pleasure, sadness, and joy. Listeners responded faster, more accurately, and with higher neural sensitivity, to non-alarming, positive cries than to alarming cries. Specifically, less alarming screams elicited more activity in many auditory and frontal brain regions. According to the authors, these results show that cries are more diverse in their nature of signaling and communication in humans.

"A major evolutionary step"

“Crying communication seems to have become widely diversified in humans, which represents a major evolutionary step,” summarizes Dr. Frühholz.

Before concluding: “Humans share with other species the potential to signal danger by shouting, but it seems only humans shout to also signal positive emotions such as extreme joy and pleasure. "

How to explain it? For the author of the study, this result may be linked to the fact that humans have to deal with more complex situations and social signals than chimpanzees and other primates. They are also more likely to hear expressions of pleasure, joy and surprise than expressions of fear in their family life and social circles. They therefore react more quickly to these signals.

"This change in priority could be due to the requirements of evolved and complex social contexts in humans" , concludes the specialist.